Becoming an Impactful Communicator

Many people think that communication is all about talking. They presume that the more they talk and articulate their ideas, the more they win the support of others. That is half of the equation. Becoming an impactful communicator requires more than that.

What so ever golden words you may use as you communicate in person, people may not connect with you because of your mere wordsmith skills. We are humans. Our brain is wired to gather, analyze, add meanings, and reach conclusion at the speed of light, so to speak. Our brain takes in data both verbal and non-verbal cues through our eyes and ears (intuition too) to reach quick conclusion about the messenger (his/her credibility, authenticity, trustworthiness, etc.).

If you’re only depending on your words alone you can only transmit a fraction of your message. Don’t get me wrong. Your words (and contents) are important. However, you should also be aware that your voice’s tone, bitch; and most importantly, the way you dress, gesture your hands, move your body, and so on play the lion share in transmitting your message to the intended audience and in turn to meet your goals from a given presentation.

You could be perceived as credible and trustworthy who is worthy of their time or you could be counted out as not worthy of their attention. In the latter case, they won’t make any change as a result of your presentation. What is the use of standing in front of people unless you meet your goals?

In order to win people’s heart, influence, and inspire them to take the action you want them to take, you need more than just uttering powerful words. You need to display passion, exude energy, use your voice and body in your favor and to communicate effectively.

Hope, these tips are helpful. Otherwise, our workshop that empowers professionals, business owners, managers, and leaders to develop impactful presentation skills takes two days. I’m not ambitious to think that I could coach you here virtually on how to excel in your presentation skills but I’m sure the tips you got from this blog inspired you to invest more on your presentation skills if your desire is to have impact in your communication.

By the way, impactful communication also entails active listening. I’m not talking about giving your ears alone. Active listening demands giving your heart too. You need to listen both what is said and what hasn’t been said in a given conversation. For that matter, Management guru Peter Drucker emphasized, “The most important thing in communication is to hear, what isn’t being said”.

You should also work on your cross cultural communication skills if your audience are diverse. You should also make sure to excel at communicating using various media. This is especially important in the 21st C. You need to be skillful in communicating effectively virtually using email, phone, social media, etc. Let me stop it here…

Assegid (AZ) Habtewold is the owner and a lead trainer at Success Pathways, LLC. He facilitates business, managerial, and leadership interactive workshops. Here is the link to learn the learning objectives of our Presentation Skills workshop: http://successpws.com/?page_id=1549, Facilitation Skills: http://successpws.com/?page_id=1517 and Communication Strategies: http://successpws.com/?page_id=1503 If you’re interested, he can also design and facilitate for your team a customized 2-days intense workshop if your desire is to empower your people to take their communication and presentation ability to the next level.